Somebody turn these boys off
Don’t they know that I’m on
Can’t they see that it’s foolish to try to kill me with songs?
What the fuck are they Lauryn?
You “Killing Me Softly”
You talk me to death, only thing you could do- Talk!
I opened the door for them
What else could I do?
These niggas want me to walk for them
But somebody talk to them
Before I go off on them…

“Already Home”
Blueprint 3

In “Already Home” Jay-Z responds to his critics in a very assertive and decisive way. His response is defiant yet insightful and I think what Jay is able to do on the song is show listeners how to handle criticism that is often based on others’ shortcomings.

I’ll explain what I mean, but before I do, let’s jump into this lyric…

Somebody turn these boys off
Don’t they know that I’m on
Can’t they see that it’s foolish to try to kill me with songs?

Jay is going in on competitors in the rap game who act as if diss songs they record have the ability to end his career. In this lyric, Jay-Z is implying that his detractors are shortsighted, so determined to attack him that they neglect their own potential.

What the fuck are they Lauryn?
You “Killing Me Softly”
You talk me to death, only thing you could do- Talk!
I opened the door for them
What else could I do?
These niggas want me to walk for them
But somebody talk to them
Before I go off on them…

Jay-Z believes that his competitors are trying to “kill him softly” through their music and that essentially all they are doing is talking.

Jay ends this verse by making a critical point: He reasons that his detractors’ attacks on him are based largely on entitlement. This point is what I touched upon earlier.

Several of Jay’s biggest critics happen to be former friends and business partners/associates. Others are trying to make a name for themselves in the rap game. Jay is saying that criticism directed at him is often due to people feeling like he owes them; whether it’s money, fame, access, opportunity, etc.

Jay claims that he has opened the door for others but that they expect him to walk through the door for them but of course he won’t and threatens to “go off” on those who attack him because they can’t do for themselves.

Here’s how we can apply this lyric to our lives:

People from privileged backgrounds are not the only ones who often have a sense of entitlement. Some people, regardless of their background, feel entitled based on their relationships or affiliations with those who have the kind of life they desire to have.

Some people falsely believe that their connections to others give them a “pass” from working hard and finding their own way. This widely held belief is actually a big problem particularly among the disadvantaged. Entitlement is the enemy of success for those caught up in the struggle.

Don’t get caught up in trying to derail someone else’s hustle. Focus on your day-to-day grind and long term ambitions. Don’t,… DO NOT expect ANYONE to be your salvation. You must take advantage of every available opportunity to change your own situation.

Next up: Jay responds to devil worshipping allegations with “God” engineering

You know, Jay has a way of putting issues all up on the table and setting the record straight. He rarely name names when he’s verbally confronting someone. Many call that subliminal attacks and while that’s true to a certain degree, I think it’s deeper than that. I think Jay is trying to make a larger point to his broader audience when he’s verbally sparring with his detractors. Jay is the kind of rare MC that wants to (and has the ability to) make a statement that goes beyond silly “beef” between rap artists. In my opinion, lyrically, there are very few MCs who can touch him.

But there are even fewer MCs in the game (past or present) who has the ability (or even desire) to take a ridiculous rap feud and turn it into a “teachable moment”, a phrase popularized by President Obama.

Here’s the first verse to “What We Talking About”:

What we talking bout real shit?
Or we talking bout rhymes?
You talking bout millions?
Or you talking ‘bout mine?
What we talking ‘bout? Cause I ain’t got time.
For what people be talking bout all the time.
What we talking bout fiction?
Or we talking bout fact?
You talking bout fiction?
Hold up, pardon my back
I’m talking bout life…
And all I hear is:
“Oh yeah he keeps talking bout crack.”
I ain’t talking bout profit. I’m talking bout pain.
I’m talking bout despair. I’m talking bout shame.
I ain’t talking bout gossip. I ain’t talking bout Game.
I ain’t talking bout Jimmy. I ain’t talking bout Dame.
I’m talking bout real shit. Them people playing…
What is you talking bout?
I don’t know what y’all saying.
People keep talking bout, “Hov take it back.”
I’m doing better than before…
Why would I do that?
Ain’t nothing cool bout carrying a strap.
Bout worrying your moms and burying your best cat.
Talking bout revenge while carrying his casket.
All teary-eyed bout to take it to a mattress.
I’m talking bout music. I ain’t talking bout rap.
You talking bout who’s hot. I ain’t talking bout that.
The conversation’s changed. Let’s yap about that.
I don’t run rap no more, I run the map!

“What We Talking About”
Blueprint 3

Many of Jay-Z’s rhymes that are direct or indirect responses to his critics are teachable moments for savvy listeners and I will continue to blog about these rhymes in the future.

This rhyme, which kicks off his most recent album, “Blueprint 3”, is one of those teachable moments.

For the record, I don’t consider this to be a battle rhyme in the same vein as “Takeover” in which he was clearly going at Mobb Deep and Nas.

Yeah, he name names but the guys he named in this verse (Damon Dash, Jim Jones and Game) were not the focus of the rhyme (a point I think Game misunderstood or simply ignored). This verse (in fact, the entire song) is more of a manifesto, which finds Jay sharing his principles and motivations with his listeners.

(By the way, the second first is straight FIRE! and one of these days I will tackle it with in-depth analysis as well)

“Walk with me” as I go in on this verse…

What we talking bout real shit?
Or we talking bout rhymes?
You talking bout millions?
Or you talking ‘bout mine?
What we talking ‘bout? Cause I ain’t got time
For what people be talking bout all the time

Basically, Jay is stating that contrary to what your favorite rappers want you to think- just becomes something comes out of the mouth of your favorite MC doesn’t mean that it’s true. Song lyrics in a rap song are not automatically synonymous with reality. In the last line in this part of the lyric Jay is taking a jab at those who claim to be making more than they’re actually are making, suggesting that those MCs must really be rhyming about his net worth.

He’s being more sarcastic than arrogant.

Let’s move on…

What we talking bout fiction?
Or we talking bout fact?
You talking bout fiction?
Hold up, pardon my back.

This line is my favorite part of this verse because it pretty much sums up the moral of the story told in this verse. Jay is simply stating:

“What’s real?”
“What’s not real?”

Fact is truth that can be proven and fiction is created from imagination.

Jay wants it to be known that he doesn’t give any credence to fiction, only dealing with facts.

Let’s continue…

I’m talking bout life
And all I hear is:
“Oh yeah, he keeps talking bout crack”
I ain’t talking bout profit. I’m talking bout pain.
I’m talking bout despair. I’m talking bout shame.

Jay acknowledges the ever-present criticism he receives in regards to a common theme in his music- drug dealing. But in response, Jay reveals something that his biggest critics (and most loyal fans) probably never consider…

I ain’t talking bout profit. I’m talking bout pain.
I’m talking bout despair. I’m talking bout shame.

See, the “benefits” of drug dealing is not the true focus or intent of his lyrics, it’s the revelation of the anguish, pressure, burden, stress and guilt from drug dealing that is the underlying and most powerful theme in his lyrics.

A true hustler (and it doesn’t matter what your hustle is) can relate to that line.

(By the way, anyone with a hustler’s spirit should check out Volume 3 of Cedric Muhammad’s important book series on overcoming the personal struggle of entrepreneurship.)

Let’s go on…

I ain’t talking bout gossip. I ain’t talking bout Game.
I ain’t talking bout Jimmy. I ain’t talking bout Dame.
I’m talking bout real shit. Them people playing…
What is you talking bout?
I don’t know what y’all saying.

This part of the lyric is the “red meat” that causes the ears of the average listener to perk up. But Jay really nips in the bud peoples’ need for beef and drama in the beginning of this line when he states that:

This AIN’T about gossip…

He goes on to state:

This AIN’T about Game (West Coast MC)
This AIN’T about Jimmy (rapper, Jim Jones)
This AIN’T about Dame (ex-business partner, Damon Dash)

Sure, Jay is implying that he’s about truth and reality and the three mentioned are in some way “playing” but in the context of the entire verse (and song) that claim is minor in its significance. Jay has “bigger fish to fry” in terms of the greater message he’s trying to convey to the listener.

I’m not saying that to play down any sort of conflict, I’m just saying that listeners have to understand the obvious- there’s more happening behind the scenes in peoples’ personal lives then we’ll ever know. What we hear (in this case, meaning Jay’s music) is strictly for our personal entertainment AND enlightenment.

Note: When I speak of enlightenment, I’m NOT referring to real, phony or perceived conflict between Hip-Hop personalities, people that you (or I) don’t know. I’m talking about insight when it comes to issues that impact YOUR life and mine (which is the actual purpose of the “Book of Hov” blog).

Ok, let’s keep it going…

People keep talking bout, “Hov take it back.”
I’m doing better than before…
Why would I do that?
Ain’t nothing cool bout carrying a strap.
Bout worrying your moms and burying your best cat.
Talking bout revenge while carrying his casket.
All teary-eyed bout to take it to a mattress.

In this part of the lyric, Jay tackles an issue that I think hinders people in their personal “process toward progress”.

Jay acknowledges that some fans want him to “take it back” in regards to the style, tone and overall sound displayed in his earlier music. But Jay asks rhetorically:

“Why would I do that?”

In the next few lines Jay explains that the real-life situations that he and others have lived is NOT “cool”. It’s not to be romanticized. It’s almost like Jay is being critical of his own misjudgments both lyrically and literally.

Jay ends the verse with this…

I’m talking bout music. I ain’t talking bout rap.
You talking bout who’s hot. I ain’t talking bout that.
The conversation’s changed. Let’s yap about that.
I don’t run rap no more, I run the map!

Here, it seems that Jay is taking on the perceived limitations that exists within the music industry stating that at this point in his life and career he’s trying to change music itself not simply rap music/Hip-Hop culture.

While some (who am I kidding- MOST) are caught up with the “flavor of the month”, an accomplished 40-year old Jay-Z states that “the conversation’s changed” (at least based on the thoughts in his mind, his actions and goals).

This is a rather ambitious but necessary statement by Jay because it shows his growth as a MC, businessperson and man in general. It also reveals his boldness to distance himself from those who limit themselves or allow themselves to be stereotyped; to be thrown in the same ol’ box.

With that said, in this part of the rhyme I think Jay makes as much of a profound statement about what should be the goal of the culture as he is stating about his own personal ambition.

(Here’s your homework: Listen to “Already Home” off the Blueprint 3 album because I’m going to tackle some lyrics from that song in my next post)

To conclude, how can we apply the points raised in this lyric to our lives?

We should all learn how to discern truth from falsehoods. It’s not necessarily about calling others out. We should embrace truth for our personal pursuit of growth, development and understanding.

Honestly, regardless of where we are in our lives in terms of age, status, etc., we don’t have time to get caught up in what others are saying or doing. Productivity is key and getting caught up in words or so-called actions of others that often amount to half-truths or outright lies is a waste of your time. Embrace what’s real and reject what’s not.

Your perspectives will shape your priorities. Often times what you want is not necessarily what you need. Understand that the means (and the factors that determine the means that you take) will have as much impact on you as the end result.

The person you become is built on the foundation of how you think, what you feel and what you do.

Don’t go backwards in life! What you thought, what you did, what you said and who you were as a person in the past matters but should not be the sole or even the strongest factor in determining the ultimate verdict of what will become of your life. Think and move forward.

Don’t be afraid to “change the conversation” in your life. When you have reached a certain point in both your mental and physical condition you should embrace your transformation AND continue to pursue even greater opportunities in various aspects of life in the future.

“I had to lace up my boots even harder
Father is too far away to father

Further-more all the kids either smoke reefer
 or either move white
There’s few writers in my cipher

So they made light of
My type of 
dreams seem dumb, they said wise up
How many guys-a, you see makin it from here
The world don’t like us, is that not clear? Alright but..

I’m different
I can’t base what I’m gon’ be
offa what everybody isn’t
They don’t listen

Just whisperin behind my back
No vision
Lack of ambition
So whack!”

“So Ambitious”
Blueprint 3

In this verse Jay-Z rhymes about his determination to get out of the hood to become successful in the rap game in spite of the odds and the negativity from naysayers. Jay made some very important statements in this lyric that we all absolutely must take heed  to as we live through in our own life journey: Regardless of the circumstances you have to be determined to succeed.  Don’t allow yourself to be influenced by a negative mindset, negative talk or negative actions.  I love when Jay says:

“I’m different, I can’t base what I’m gon’ be off of what everybody isn’t”

The life you live is yours and what you make of your life is on you.  What becomes of your life is not based on what becomes (or doesn’t become) of the lives of those around you.  Don’t allow someone else’s life to negatively impact your dreams, goals and ambitions.  What you have to understand is that most people lack ambition- why? Because they lack vision and therefore live their lives with a lack of direction.  When you’re intent on making a change it’s inevitable that some people around you will try to discourage or ridicule you based on their own issues.

Remember, in life you have to find your own way!